Chapter 6 - THEY HAD BEEN PREPARING A “BETTER PARENTING PLAN” WITHOUT THE OTHER PARENT
Hollis Parenting Strategies was legitimate.
That mattered.
Not a fake company.
Not a corrupt friend.
A real family-consulting practice.
Daniel had hired them privately.
Their consultant, Dr. Aaron Hollis, was a licensed family therapist.
When Leah contacted his attorney, the truth became clearer.
Dr. Hollis had met with Daniel and Evelyn four times.
He repeatedly recommended involving me.
They refused.
Why?
According to session notes Daniel later disclosed:
Claire becomes defensive when parenting is discussed.
That was Daniel’s statement.
Not a clinical conclusion.
Dr. Hollis wrote:
Cannot assess absent parent. Recommendations limited to participants' reported concerns.
Good.
Professionals know limits better than families sometimes do.
What were Daniel's concerns?
Lily becoming too emotionally dependent on me.
My travel causing separation anxiety.
Inconsistent household expectations.
Evelyn believed I reversed discipline after she imposed it.
Some of that was probably true.
If Lily came home crying because Evelyn took away dessert for whining, I often gave her ice cream later.
Not my finest co-parenting strategy.
But nobody had told me the full rules.
Dr. Hollis recommended:
Shared written expectations between both parents.
Consistent communication.
Age-appropriate chores.
No using affection or contact as reward/punishment.
Interesting.
Daniel and Evelyn selectively adopted only:
Age-appropriate chores.
They ignored:
No restricting parental contact.
And:
Involve both parents.
Dr. Hollis explicitly wrote:
Child should not be prevented from reasonable contact with either parent as behavioral consequence.
I stared at Daniel.
“You paid almost ten thousand dollars for advice you ignored.”
He looked angry.
“We used what made sense.”
“Meaning what agreed with your mother.”
“That isn't fair.”
I slid the note toward him.
“Did you stop Lily from calling me?”
“Mom did.”
“Did you know?”
Silence.
“Daniel.”
“Yes.”
There.
I felt something inside me settle.
Not rage.
Decision.
Then another note.
Daniel expressed concern Claire's career may lead to future relocation or increased travel.
I frowned.
“Future relocation?”
My job had offered me a promotion the previous year.
Chicago headquarters.
I declined because we did not want to move Lily.
Daniel knew.
Then I remembered an argument.
I once said:
“If things were different, I might have taken Chicago.”
That sentence apparently survived.
Daniel told Dr. Hollis he worried I might revisit relocation.
So part of the structure had another purpose.
Make Lily more rooted with Daniel and Evelyn.
If I ever reconsidered a major job move, Daniel wanted stability centered around him.
Again:
Future planning without me.
Not necessarily a custody scheme yet.
But groundwork.
Then Dr. Hollis wrote:
Father appears highly concerned about preserving child's current geographic stability. Recommend joint discussion before any assumptions.
Joint discussion.
Never happened.
Instead, Daniel updated school contacts.
Increased Evelyn's role.
Created routines.
Paid her.
Documented my travel.
Every individual step could be defended as practical parenting.
Together they created a story.
Daniel and Evelyn provide structure.
Claire provides disruption.
Then the most painful part:
Lily had started repeating it.
“Mommy travels.”
Not:
Daddy travels too.
“Grandma has rules.”
Not:
Mommy has rules too.
“Daddy works.”
Not:
May you like
Mommy works.
The family narrative had reached the child.
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